Guide: Ferruccio Delivers! - a Historical & Technical Appraisal of the Lamborghini 350 GT & 350 GTS

May 19

May 19 Guide: Ferruccio Delivers! - a Historical & Technical Appraisal of the Lamborghini 350 GT & 350 GTS

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Background

Ferruccio Lamborghini’s reason for establishing his own auto maker was to build technically superior machinery to those vehicles on offer from Ferrari (with which he had reputedly been less than impressed).

Having already made one fortune with Lamborghini Trattori (whose products used an unusually large number of components manufactured in-house), Ferruccio Lamborghini had subsequently achieved further success thanks to his air-conditioning and refrigeration businesses.

With this strong manufacturing background, Automobili Lamborghini was established in 1963 when work began on the construction of a state-of-the-art factory in Sant’Agata, Bologna.

Automobili Lamborghini’s first product to break cover was the 350 GTV prototype. The GTV was displayed at the Turin Motor Show in October 1963 having been presented to select members of the automotive press a day earlier.

As expected, the GTV was more advanced than anything Ferrari had to offer; it featured fully independent suspension, a dual overhead camshaft V12 engine, four wheel disc brakes and a five-speed gearbox, none of which were available on Ferrari road cars of the period.

The GTV was wrapped in an exciting body designed by freelance stylist, Franco Scaglione. Among its most avante garde features were sharply creased fastback styling and rotating headlights that accentuated the slippery profile.

Although the GTV was very well received, to make it production-ready, a number of refinements would be needed.

This task fell to engineers Gian Paolo Dallara and Paolo Stanzani, along with chief test driver, Bob Wallace.

By the time this work began, Giotto Bizzarrini (who had been contracted to design the GTV underpinnings as well as Lamborghini’s all-new V12 engine) had left the company by mutual agreement. Bizzarrini, whose background was in racing car design, wanted to pursue his competitive aspirations, something that Ferruccio Lamborghini was not prepared to countenance.

By the spring of 1964, Dallara, Stanzani and Wallace, together with Carrozzeria Touring of Milan who had been brought on board to rework and productionise the GTV’s body, were ready to unveil Lamborghini’s first offering: the 350 GT.

The prototype 350 GT (chassis 0101) was displayed at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1964.

Production began two months later in May. The ambitious target was to produce ten cars per week.

Whereas the GTV had been assembled in Ferruccio Lamborghini’s tractor factory, the 350 GT was built at Sant’Agata. It became Lamborghini’s sole offering and a direct rival for the Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Lusso (soon to be replaced by the 275 GTB), the Maserati 3500 GTi / Mistral and Aston Martin DB5.

Chassis

The 350 GT’s chassis was broadly similar to that of the GTV albeit subtly reworked by Neri & Bonacini in Modena (Nembo). Neri & Bonacini switched the chassis from square to round tubes and extended the wheelbase from 2450mm to 2550mm in order to free up space in the cockpit.

Thereafter, production was soon switched to another Modena chassis fabricator: Marchesi.

Suspension-wise, the 350 GT used the same arrangement as before: independent double wishbones with coil springs and telescopic shocks plus an anti-roll bar at either end.

Girling disc brakes were fitted at each corner. The fronts were reduced in diameter from 292mm to 280mm while those at the rear stayed at 274mm.

The GTV’s 15 x 6.5-inch Borrani wire wheels were retained along with Pirelli Cinturato tyres.

Similarly, track dimensions were unchanged at 1380mm for both axles.

To increase luggage space, twin 40-litre fuel tanks mounted in the rear fenders were used instead of the GTV’s single 80-litre cell.

Engine / Gearbox

The 3.5-litre 24 valve Lamborghini 60° V12 displayed alongside the GTV at Turin had been a thinly veiled competition-type power unit that bristled with advanced features such as an all-alloy construction, dual overhead camshafts, enormous downdraught carburettors and dry-sump lubrication.

However, Ferruccio Lamborghini was not interested in racing; he wanted a smooth-running engine with long service intervals and greater reliability than anything else on offer.

With this in mind, Dallara set about toning things down a little.

The camshaft profiles were softened and the six Weber 36 IDL 1 downdraught carbs were switched to off-the-shelf 40 DCOE 2 sidedraught units that usefully solved any clearance issues.

As dry-sump lubrication was deemed unnecessary for road use, a conventional wet-sump system was employed instead.

To improve reliability, the compression ratio was reduced from 11.0:1 to 9.5:1.

Capacity of the cooling system was increased from 9 to 15-litres.

Dallara also moved the two rear-mounted Marelli distributors to a more accessible position in front of the exhaust camshafts. A new in-house oil filter was created as well.

Otherwise, the Tipo L350 power unit remained much as before.

Displacement was an unchanged 3464cc thanks to a bore and stroke of 77mm and 62mm respectively.

The ignition system comprised two coils and two Marelli distributors.

Peak output was 280bhp at 6500rpm and 228lb-ft at 4000rpm.

For comparison, Lamborghini had claimed output figures of 360bhp at 8000rpm and 250lb-ft at 6000rpm for the GTV.

Transmission was through a five-speed ZF gearbox with single dry-plate hydraulic clutch and Salisbury rear axle with limited-slip differential. New gear ratios were used, but the original 3.31:1 final drive ratio was retained.

Bodywork

Instead of the rakish GTV, Ferruccio Lamborghini wanted the 350 GT to be a conservatively styled Gran Turismo of the type typically favoured by low key Italian industrialists.

He turned to Carrozzeria Touring of Milan who were commissioned to redesign and also manufacture bodies for the new model.

Touring started by softening the lines and removing some of the more controversial aspects. Most obviously, the rotating headlights were ditched in favour of fixed oval lenses that lent the 350 GT a distinctive bug-eyed look.

The fenders and tail became more rounded. New light units were installed at the back of the car too.

Bigger doors were required thanks to the extended wheelbase and gave much-improved access to the cockpit.

Overall, the 350 GT was 140mm longer than the GTV, but the same width and height.

Whereas the GTV had a mixture of steel and aluminium panels, the revised body was fabricated entirely from aluminium.

As usual, Touring used their patented Superleggera assembly technique. This involved a structural framework of small diameter steel tubes that conformed to the body shape which was then covered by an aluminium outer skin.

Interior

As per the rest of the car, 350 GT interiors were equipped to an exceptionally high standard.

Finest quality leather was used to cover the dash, instrument binnacle, transmission tunnel, door panels, sidewalls, rear bulkhead, roof pillars, headlining and the well-padded high-backed front seats. Black hide was normally used for the dash assembly and centre console with the rest being coloured according to the customer’s requirements.

Directly behind the wood-rimmed three-spoke steering wheel was a primary instrument binnacle that housed large read outs for road and engine speed between which was a small oil pressure gauge.

Located in a semi-cowled binnacle with a natural alloy fascia at the top of the centre console were more small read outs for water temperature, oil temperature, battery voltage and fuel. A clock was located outboard of the glovebox in front of the passenger seat.

Lower down the centre console were an array of flick switches and the electric window controls.

An unusual feature of early examples was a central rear seat that gave the car a 2+1 layout.

Thanks to the 350 GT’s slim pillars and outstanding ergonomics, all-round visibility was easily the best in its class.

Options

Because the 350 GT’s standard specification was so high, the list of optional extras was fairly limited.

Buyers could choose from alternative axle ratios, different layouts for the minor instruments and dual instead of single wipers.

Bumper overriders could also be specified.

Weight / Performance

The 350 GT tipped the scales at 1290kg and had a 48 / 52 weight distribution.

Top speed was 158mph and 0-62mph took 6.6 seconds.

Early Production Changes

The prototype displayed at Geneva in 1964 (chassis 0101) had six exhaust outlets as per the GTV whereas subsequent examples used a conventional four-outlet arrangement.

Chassis 0101 was followed by another four prototypes: 0102, 0103, 0104 and 0105.

The first true production-spec. 350 GT was presented at the Paris Motor Show in October 1964.

Very early cars used a full width single-piece front bumper and a nose badge with a red and white background.

This arrangement was subsequently switched to a pair of quarter bumpers. Around this time, the front intake trim was switched from a mesh grille to two horizontal bars. The nose badge was changed to a black background.

The 2+1 cockpit layout with its centre-mounted bucket was replaced by a carpeted parcel shelf and luggage straps after the first dozen or so cars had rolled off the production line.

Other changes saw a pair of vents added at each corner of the front bulkhead (between the windscreen and hood) and a light unit added under licence plate.

350 GTS

To broaden the 350 GT’s appeal, Lamborghini commissioned Touring to produce an open top GTS variant as a potential rival for the Ferrari 275 GTS, Maserati Mistral Spyder and Aston Martin DB5 Convertible.

The first example (chassis 0325) was displayed at the Paris Motor Show in October 1965.

Touring modified the 350 GT to incorporate a flush rear deck and frameless single-piece door glass. The hood disappeared completely from view when lowered and could be stowed beneath a neat black tonneau. A handsome hard top was also devised.

Inside, new low-backed seats were fitted along with a pair of wood inserts for the central control panels.

Unfortunately, Ferruccio Lamborghini ultimately decided against putting the 350 GTS into production.

As a result, only two examples were produced: chassis 0325 (Oro / Nero, the 1965 Paris Motor Show car) and 0328 (Nero / Verde, which came with a hard top).

3500 GTZ

In addition to the 350 GTS, another pair of special cars were built on the 350 GT platform.

The 3500 GTZ (covered in detail separately) was conceived as a special short wheelbase variant by Marchese Gerino Gerini who ran Lamborghini's Milan agency, Lamborcar.

Gerini initially ordered two of the shortened 350 GT rolling chassis that were then sent to Carrozzeria Zagato of Milan where they were equipped with rakish Berlinetta bodies.

Both cars came with covered headlights, Kamm tails and wraparound glass windscreens. They were extremely handsome machines and Gerini planned to sell a limited number of copies.

However, like the 350 GTS, only two examples of the 3500 GTZ were ever built: chassis 0310 (Bianco / Nero, the 1965 London Motor Show car) and 0320 (Grigio / Nero).

Later Production Changes

Later in production, the 350 GT was switched to incorporate a leather instead of natural alloy centre console, a Lamborghini-made instead of ZF gearbox and a back end that was also manufactured in-house (as opposed to by Salisbury).

For the last few months of production, Touring switched over to bodies fabricated predominantly from steel instead of aluminium.

When the 400 GT was introduced at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1966, 350 GT owners were offered the chance to have their car retro-fitted with the bigger, more powerful engine.